Suns' Kevin Durant Praises Jayson Tatum, Celtics: 'Best Starting 5 in the League'
The Phoenix Suns host the Boston Celtics in a potential NBA Finals preview on Saturday, and Kevin Durant had nothing but good things to say about his upcoming opponent.
"Best starting five in the league by far," Durant told reporters when discussing the Celtics.
It will be the first of two quick matchups between the teams, as Boston hosts the Suns in a return showdown on Thursday. It will also be an excellent test for Phoenix, as the Celtics have the best record in the NBA at 48-14 and, as Durant suggested, bring plenty of star power.
That starting five consists of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porziņģis, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, who all bring something to the table. Tatum is one of the best players in the league, Brown is an overqualified No. 2, Porziņģis is a matchup nightmare with his ability to draw opposing bigs away from the basket and Holiday is an elite defender.
But White's emergence this season is what makes the Celtics truly dangerous and gives them no weaknesses in that starting five.
He is averaging 15.1 points, 4.9 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 46.8 percent from the field and 40.1 percent from deep this season. His shooting allows him to take advantage of all the defensive attention the rest of the stars draw and makes Boston nearly impossible to match up against.
When healthy, the Suns are one of the teams that can nearly match all that star power thanks to the presence of Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.
However, Booker is sidelined with a right ankle sprain that Shams Charania of the Athletic and Stadium reported on Monday will keep him out for "at least the next seven-to-10 days."
To the Suns' credit, they have defeated the Denver Nuggets and Toronto Raptors in back-to-back contests without Booker. Durant scored 35 points in each of those contests, while Beal scored 31 in a close loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the previous game.
They will likely both have to lead the way again if they are going to defeat the Celtics, who should have plenty of motivation considering they are entering the contest on a two-game losing streak after dropping matchups with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Nuggets.
They haven't lost three games in a row all season, so Phoenix will have to bring its best effort if it is going to defeat arguably the best starting five in the NBA.
